New-Zealand born England hooker Dylan Hartley has said that he "feels every bit English" ahead of this afternoon's clash against the country of his birth.
Hartley moved to England at the age of 16, and although he admitted that he didn't take to the English culture immediately, he feels fully ingrained now.
"England made me the rugby player I am," Hartley told The Times. "I was fully aware I was going to have a rugby career here and I fully bought into it. I feel every bit English and I'm proud of that."
The 27-year-old has also said that although New Zealand are an incredibly proud nation, England are just as proud to wear the white shirt.
"We have always been proud to wear the rose and I don't think we should be afraid of talking about it," he said.
"We have been doing that over the last few weeks, reconnecting and looking into the history of the shirt.
"We talked about Remembrance Day last week and our fallen heroes, the England players who went to war and didn't come back, looking a bit deeper into history and trying to get an extra 10 per cent when you pull it [the England shirt] on."
Hartley has been named in Stuart Lancaster's starting XV for this afternoon's match and will win his 50th international cap at Twickenham.
